271st CBCS leads first JISCC training event

Photo By Tech. Sgt. Tony Harp | U.S. Airmen from various Air National Guard units, pose for a group photo May 2, 2019, at the ANG Schoolhouse in Annville, Pennsylvania. Over 40 Airmen, from 15 states, came together to conduct the first Joint Incident Site Communication Capability training event. The event focused on training Airmen, of all levels, on equipment and discussing the mission and needs within the JISCC community. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Tony Harp)  

MIDDLETOWN, PA, UNITED STATES

05.13.2019

Story by Staff Sgt. Tony Harp 

193rd Special Operations Wing

Airmen from the 271st Combat Communications Squadron led the first-ever Joint Incident Site Communications Capability training event April 29 to May 2 at the Air National Guard Schoolhouse in Fort Indiantown Gap.

The event allowed for more than 40 Airmen, from 15 states, within the JISCC community to network, train on equipment and plan for the future.

The mission of the JISCC is to provide communications support for domestic operations and disaster relief efforts to establish command and control.

Master Sgt. Mickey Shaffer, a radio frequency transmissions specialist with the 271st CBCS, said this is the first time this training has been completed. When the JISCC was established, there was no collective training and the training plans fell on individual units. This training is a proof of concept to identify training needs and plan for future training events.

“This is more of a collaboration so we can to work with the entire JISCC community to solidify better continuity, find out the true JISCC potential and find out better ways to deploy the JISCC so we can operate more efficiently,” said Shaffer.

There were three levels of training that were conducted during the event, broken up by beginner, intermediate and expert levels.

“The beginners are people who haven’t touched the JISCC at all and are just learning how to do the setup, teardown and all the proper procedures by the book,” said Shaffer. “We have an intermediate where they are kind of getting faster setups, more efficient setups, they are collaborating on how to do it the best way. Then the expert level, for people who are dug in deep, they are looking at the common operating pictures, they are looking at more efficient ways to operate the JISCC at a higher level, even up to the functional area manager.”

“Some of the benefits of this is to collaborate,” said Shaffer. “Since we’re geologically separated, it’s hard for us to collaborate with each other in order to find the best solutions for these products. What’s great about our collaboration is we can come up with the best solution, share it out to the JISCC community all in one place and then we are all doing the best thing for everybody. That way when we go to deploy, we’re there and we’re ready to fight.”

Staff Sgt. Kevin Sequen, a client systems technician with the 282nd CBCS, Rhode Island ANG, said he had no experience with the JISCC before attending the training event. He believes the flexibility and pace of the beginner course helped him gain an excellent understanding of the systems the JISCC uses and the information gained will be an asset when he returns to his unit.

• Date Taken: 05.13.2019
• Date Posted: 05.13.2019 08:54
• Story ID: 322182
• Location: MIDDLETOWN, PA, US